


On Your Right

by I_am_a_closet_fanfic_fiend



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Blatantly ignores large elements of canon, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Some Plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 07:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17075978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_am_a_closet_fanfic_fiend/pseuds/I_am_a_closet_fanfic_fiend
Summary: After the events of Civil War, Shuri deprogrammed Bucky and he joined the Avengers. Since you and he struck up a friendship, he seems intent on honing his flirting by practicing with you. This wouldn’t be such a problem if you had any experience, but knowing he’s just teasing you do your best to shrug it off. It’s not like anything will come of it. Right?





	On Your Right

Sam had been begging you for weeks to go on his morning runs with him. When you found yourselves on an extended stay in DC, you finally agreed, waking up before the sun and changing into your workout clothes. You met at the far end of the reflecting pool and started off at a light jog.

The two of you ran at about the same pace, so it was easy to keep in time. You were about to comment on the slowly lightening sky, when you heard heavy, hurried footsteps behind you.

“Just ignore them,” Sam ordered.

Before you could ask, you heard Steve’s familiar voice, “On your left,” and saw him pass by Sam. You weren’t expecting the low “On your right,” murmured in your ear as Bucky passed you, and you jumped in surprise.

“Do they always do that?” You asked as you sped up to keep pace.

“Constantly,” Sam grumbled.

You didn’t understand why Sam was so put out. It was kind of funny. Although you supposed it might get irritating if it happened every day.

It was plenty irritating by the thirteenth time that same morning.

“Okay, now I get why you wanted me to go running with you,” you laughed as you leaned back against the tree, trying to catch your breath.

“It was one thing when it was just Cap, but both of them. I needed a barrier.”

“Fair enough. Well, if running with you means a view like this, I can dig it.”

“Are you two calling it quits already?” Steve asked, walking up to you with his hands on his hips, barely even breaking a sweat.

Stupid super soldier.

“We’re just getting started,” Bucky added on, looking even less fazed.

“Well, by all means, have at it. We wouldn’t want to hold you back.”

“You could never hold me back, doll,” Bucky smiled genuinely at you, and you lost your train of thought. “Of course, I could always slow things down, if that’s the way you like it.”

Steve rolled his eyes at his best friend and Sam fake gagged next to you. In your head you responded with a witty quip about how he would never know how you like it or something similar. In reality you just sort of gaped at him, stomach flipping and brain fritzing.

Standing up abruptly, you mumbled an excuse, “I better head back to the tower. Wanda said she wanted to train together this morning. See you later, thanks for the run, Sam.”

“If that’s what you call it,” Steve barked out laughing.

“Yeah, you’re hilarious. That hasn’t gotten old at all,” Sam sneered.

Rolling your eyes, you jogged away from the three guys, but once they were out of sight, you slowed to a walk. You remembered too late that Wanda had left the night before.

“Ugh, idiot,” you mentally slapped yourself.

You had no doubt they had all picked up on your lie. Figuring it wasn’t worth it to face Sam’s teasing or Steve’s knowing glances or Bucky’s dumb flirty perfect face you didn’t bother going back to the compound.

“Stupid super soldier,” you muttered to yourself as you wandered around D.C.

  
You ended up at the Smithsonian, roaming around the Captain America exhibit. You liked to come here whenever you were in D.C. You had come with Bucky pretty frequently when he was first sorting through his memories after Wakanda. Being there brought back your own happy memories.

You smiled at the video clip of Steve and Bucky they had playing on a loop. They were so at ease, joking and teasing. It had taken a long time, but the light in Bucky’s eyes had eventually come back. He and Steve were constantly laughing together making up for lost time you were sure.

You’d also seen that smile thrown your way more than once. It always made your stomach warm, like when you finally got a home cooked meal at the holidays.

No. No. No.

You didn’t want to admit that Bucky had started to feel like home. That would mean that you liked him. And you definitely did not like the dumb, wonderful, sweet, perfect super soldier.

Shit.

It wasn’t that you actually had a problem liking Bucky. He was one of the best people you knew. T’Challa and his team had managed to deactivate the programming Hydra had given him. He could never be turned into that again. He once told you it was one of the happiest days of his life, followed quickly by months of the worst.

Knowing he couldn’t turn back into the Winter Soldier was a huge relief for him. But then he was finally forced to confront what he had done. That was a long struggle. The major turning point was when Tony came to visit the compound and forgave Bucky.

Natasha had provided Tony with the same intel she had given Steve. The intel that offered excruciating detail into everything that was done to Bucky. You weren’t sure about everything, but given the night terrors he often had, you could guess. Even with that info, it took time for Tony to come around. But when he finally came to the compound, he sat with Bucky. He told him how he understood that they had turned Bucky into a weapon. How it wasn’t really him that pulled the trigger.

That had been the first time you saw hope in Bucky’s eyes. After that he started to heal and you slowly began to see the Bucky Barnes Steve had once known. And Sergeant Bucky Barnes, was a merciless flirt, and you had fallen right for it. He took particular pleasure in riling you up.

You were “cute when you’re flustered, doll”. He drove you nuts. Because while you wanted to be bold and confident like Nat, and your sarcasm skills were definitely up for the job, you were as inexperienced as pre-serum Steve on the dating thing. That’s why Bucky’s comment about taking it slow threw you. Yeah he was teasing you about sex, but in reality if you were going to be with him you really would need him to take it slow - right from the start with dating, all the way through to sleeping together. That is why you never gave into your crush. You knew he’d get bored with you before anything ever happened.

“On your right.”

You jumped at the interruption to your inner monologue, more than a trained agent should have.

“You know when I told you to take a picture because it would last longer, I didn’t mean it. You’re always welcome to take a peek at the real deal.”

“Who says I was looking at you?” You shot back.

“Same goes for Steve. It’s not like he’d toss a dame like you out of bed.”

“Always a gutter brain. Were you this bad in the 40’s?”

“I’m a perfect gentleman, doll. Remember I promised to take it nice and slow with you,” he whispered at the shell of your ear.

You repressed a shiver.

“Let’s get out of here,” he suggested abruptly.

He tried to play it off as a pick up line, but you sensed the sudden tension in him. You looked around and noticed the large tour group of kids coming your way. Kids always recognized Bucky, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the parents who pulled them away.

Pulling his arm around your shoulder, you stuck your hand through his belt loop, guiding him away.

Public displays of affection make people nervous. Nat had taught you that. A happy couple drew much less attention than a baseball cap and jacket ever would.

  


Outside in the fresh air, you felt Bucky instantly relax beside you, but he didn’t remove his arm from around you. It felt nice, so you let him lead you around the city, letting your feet fall in step with his.

“You look nice, by the way,” you complimented him after catching sight of your reflection in a store window. “What’s the special occasion?”

His dark jeans fit him perfectly, and the blue striped button down he wore was snug in all the right places.

“I… uh… had a date planned. But the dame never showed,” he explained, using his free hand to adjust his baseball cap.

Your heart sank at his words. A date.

“So you decided to take a trip down memory lane instead?” you queried.

He shrugged.

“I hoped you’d be there. I thought we could spend some time together.”

Because you were the easy part. Always there, but never wanted until you were the last thing left.

“Well, you found me,” you huffed.

Noting the change in your expression, he steered you toward the nearest shop. The sweet smell of sugar, butter, and chocolate pushed away the worst of the bitterness. Bucky ordered a giant brownie and a giant chocolate chip cookie. You took your goodies and settled into one of the small tables in the corner.

You moaned as you bit into the warm chocolate chip cookie, not feeling an ounce of shame until you noticed Bucky repressing a smile.

“What?”

“Nothing,” He shook his head, “Not a thing, doll.” He grinned and then turned to people watch.

While he was distracted, you reached out to steal a bit of his brownie. You were a millimeter away when you felt his hand close around your wrist.

“Paws off my sweets, doll.”

You managed to look a little sorry and moved to retract your hand but Bucky didn’t let you. Instead, he moved both of your hands under the table and entwined your fingers. With his other hand he pinches off a piece of the brownie, offering it to you. You go to grab it, but he pulls back with a smirk.

“Ah ah. I said paws off,” he reminded you, offering the bite again.

“Then what… Oh,” you said, realizing what he was getting at.

As he held up the bite of brownie you inclined your head and he fed it to you, smirking triumphantly. He offered you another bite, with that same infuriating smirk.

“Mmmm, god that tastes so good,” you groaned, and his smirk faltered for a moment, as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. It was so quick you soon decided it must have been your imagination.

Halfway through his brownie, you realized your cookie had gone relatively untouched.

“You know, you’re looking mighty smug for a guy who’s willingly giving up half his dessert without getting anything in return,” you grinned, opting for a bite of your own cookie. Breaking off a piece you offered it to Bucky, who snaked his tongue out and took the bite.

“Who says I didn’t get anything in return,” he commented, smiling brightly.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also posted on my Tumblr, but I am in the process of cross-posting my work here. This is one of my favorites, so I thought I would start with this. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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